


Peppermint Candy

by SnapbackSteven



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: And Lion gets a boyfriend, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Just lots of fluff, M/M, Set in the future, There's some cute older!Connverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 05:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8610301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnapbackSteven/pseuds/SnapbackSteven
Summary: Set in a world where Jasper and Eyeball have been redeemed and are coexisting peacefully with the Crystal Gems, they adopt their own pet tiger, and raise it as their own.





	1. Prologue

Jasper and Eyeball had developed a deep interest in human culture. They had long since been redeemed and welcomed into the Crystal Gems' inner circle of friends and allies, having made a home out of abandoned Homeworld ships outside Beach City. Though they weren't yet well-versed in earth's ways, they had a natural curiosity for it, and were quickly gaining more knowledge than even Garnet or Pearl.  
  
"But ... why are they all in cages?" Eyeball scrunched her nose up in disgust at the vile display. Though she tried her best to understand, there was no reason she could come up with for why the animals here should be trapped, unless they had committed treason. And the fliers for this zoo said nothing about treason.  
  
"Rosebud said that some animals were safer in captivity, where humans couldn't harm them." Jasper lead Eyeball through the congested crowd in the dark and damp hallway of the reptile exhibit. "I trust his judgement, and yet ..." She suppressed the flashbacks of Malachite begging to take surface.

Eyeball's gaze lingered upon a large toad frog brooding in the dark end of a pond, but she was parted from the sight of it and blinded by the sun exiting the humid facility. "Are you okay? Would you like to leave?" She heard the gentle call of her girlfriend; Jasper had stopped to check on her, deeply concerned. There were some mental wounds between these two soldiers that would never heal, but they looked out for eachother and desperately cared for one another. The ruby's heart skipped a beat; she felt so safe in her shadow. "No, I'm okay ... I wanted to see the tigers first."  
  
Jasper checked the map that was given to them at the entrance, and made a beeline for the tiger exhibit, located within the heart of the zoo. It was a round enclosure, a crater in the stone path, fenced off and filled with artificial nature for the six female tigers living in the den. They were scattered about: two of them curled up sleeping together, one lounging on a rock, and the other three roaming about. But something struck Jasper about this. None of them looked up, no matter how the humans around them called and cooed to the tigers for their attention. Not even the loudest shouts from children brought their eyes to the surface. To these tigers, the only world was the three or four thousand square feet of man-made nature built around them. There was nothing further than that. Nothing new to look forward to, nothing to explore, nothing to see but the same thing day in and day out.  
  
Her grip on the iron fence tightened, noticeably so, because Eyeball could hear the metal giving way beneath her powerful grasp. "... Jasper?"  
  
"You said you like tigers, right?" She turned to the smaller gem, a bright smile spreading across her face. The kind of smile that never existed before the Crystal Gems became her family. The kind that never existed before Eyeball became hers. "Come on. We're taking them home." She jumped the fence and fell into the enclosure, the thud of her boots forming a small crater in the grass.  
  
"We're _what?!_ " Eyeball threw her hands up, but suddenly became aware of the concerned murmurs from the nearby humans. They were shielding their children's eyes. They believed that Jasper was out to harm the tigers, but this wasn't anything new. Jasper was large and intimidating, and had scared off her fair share of unaware humans in her day. Eyeball bit the bullet, said 'fuck it', and dropped into the den along with her, where Jasper had already thrown the two sleeping tigers over each of her shoulders. "I'm gonna go talk with the three in the corner. I'll see if I can convince them to come along. You go negotiate with that one in the cave." Jasper naturally thought the tigers would listen to reason. They were animals, just like humans, so why wouldn't they?  
  
The two of them hauled off in opposite directions, Eyeball running up to the front of the small cave where a tigress sat in waiting. She looked to be the eldest, the most distinguished, and very unvexed by their visit. "Hey, we're here to bust ya out! Follow us, okay?" She turned to leave, but noticed the cat refused to follow. "... What? They don't have you chained up here or anything. You can just ... _walk right out._ What's the hold up?"  
  
The tigress stepped into the darkness of the cave to retreat something and return with it in her maw. A tiger cub, small and tender, eyes shut to the world. It was clearly a newborn. She placed it in Eyeball's hands and the ruby looked on in utter confusion. "Is she ... defective? She's so small." She was met with no response, of course, but the eldest tiger passed her by to follow Jasper, who had busted down the nearest door to find a way out through the employee-only vicinities of the zoo. Eyeball hurried to follow, clutching the cub close to her chest.  
  
\--  
  
" _SIX TIGERS?!_ " Pearl shouted in that shrill, motherly tone of voice, looking out from over the balcony of their home to the tigers roaming the beach.  
  
"NOPE!" Steven corrected her, equally loud. He stood beside Eyeball, stroking the ruffled fur of the cub in her arms. " **SEVEN** TIGERS!"  
  
She pinched the bridge of her nose and stepped back through the screen door. It was too early in the morning to figure out how they would care for seven more large cats when Lion was enough of a hassle as it was.  
  
"They've taken quite a shine to us already." Jasper noted from her place on one of the rocks. The six tigresses were laying comfortably on the warm sand of the beach around her and enjoying the view of the ocean, which none of them had yet seen before today.  
  
"Do you think she's broken?" Eyeball cautiously asked in reference to the cub's size.  
  
"Well, for one, she's not a she!" Steven laughed. "May I hold him?" He was given a wary glare, but it was mostly because Eyeball had grown attached to holding him, but she willingly gave him up regardless. "Thank you." He smiled and took the cub in his chubby little arms. "He's not broken, he's just new! He only came into existence a little while ago. He barely knows how to walk, and he can't fight. He hasn't even opened his eyes yet."  
  
Right on cue, the cub stretched open his sticky eyelids and let the light of the new world cast into his bright eyes, but shut them instantly and growled. Steven looked on with starry eyes at the miracle occurring before him. "Oh my gosh! Did you see that?! He's starting to open his eyes!" But he began to mewl and struggle in Steven's grasp, and suddenly leapt back into Eyeball's arms, looking right up to her with eyes so wide and so curious that it made her heart stop.  
  
"Oh wow ... He probably thinks you're his mom now!" Steven stepped behind Eyeball to look over her shoulder at the cub playfully pawing at her cheek. "On earth, a lot of animals get attached to the first thing they see when they open their eyes. And he seems to like you already."  
  
"He's so ..." She held him out at arms length. He flapped his paws about and curled his tail around his waist. Her face scrunched up. "... soft."  
  
"And so cute! Look at all those stripes. Kinda reminds you of Jasper, don't he?" Steven booped him on his pudgy little nose, and the tiger fought back by nibbling on his finger. "Maybe that's what you should call him! Jasper Junior!"  
  
The ruby narrowed her single eye in thought.  
  
"Yeah ... I'd like that."


	2. Cookie Cats

"Hi, Steven!" Connie waved on her way down the steps of the Ruins, ever enthusiastic to see him. Years had passed and they were both in their late teens, Connie having grown into a fine young woman herself. She was as tall as her mother, but with a vastly less conservative taste in fashion; a flowing white halter top that draped in waves from her neck to the hem just past her hips, over a pair of pale denim shorts. Her hair was much shorter these days, a plume of dark fluff caressing her neck and laying against her shoulders. Otherwise, she was the same old Connie, albeit with a silver nose ring and a rose tattooed on her left shoulder. Thankfully, time didn't diminish her friendship with Steven. Rather, it strengthened it in ... more ways than one. "Mom said it was gonna rain today. To quote her, 'I can feel it in my bones'. But there's not a cloud in the sky. Lucky us, right?" She placed Rose's sword in it's scabbard upon the step Steven was sitting on.  
  
"Hi Connie!!" He said, delayed, but with equal excitement, and in a much deeper voice than his 14-year-old self. Steven was still shorter than Connie. Maybe moreso nowadays, the top of his head only reaching just past her shoulders, but he made up for it with girth. His body type was similar to Greg's, but his training had built muscle beneath that lovable chub, covered in dark body hair along his exposed arms and legs with some stubble on his wide chin. His hair remained the same, as did his usual shorts and star-branded t-shirt combo, but with an open pink dress shirt over it that was one size too small for him. Connie bought him one on the first birthday she spent with him and it had become tradition to buy him one each year to make up for his growth spurts. Looked like it was getting close to that time of year again. "I asked Garnet if it would rain and she said no. This is why we always listen to Garnet." He laughed, and they gave eachother a perfectly in-sync high-five.  
  
"G'evening Rosebud, and Rosebud's Knight." Jasper's voice echoed across the Ruins arena as she made her powerful entrance. Her dark flowing cape billowed around a deep magenta outfit, nearly black, with one bright pink diamond emblazoned on her chest. She was followed by Eyeball wearing a similar cape and a matching outfit with the same pink diamond. She had apparently, at some point, defected to join the deceased Diamond in support of Jasper. But instead of making a more direct entrance, she rode in on a tiger. An incredibly large tiger, in fact, hopping off of him once they were past the entrance of the Ruins.  
  
"Junior!!" Steven jumped up and rushed toward him, being immediately engulfed in the warm embrace of eager tiger arms. Junior licked at his face like an overgrown puppy dog and the Quartz man giggled. "It's good to see ya, boy!" He scratched the scruff of his chin. "We're gonna be busy training, but I don't want you to get lonely ... Oh! Why don't I call Lion to keep you company?" He turned, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted to the heavens,  
  
_"LIIIIIIOOOOOOONNN!!!"_  
  
The echo of his call drifted through the sky and faded. It was only until the sound could no longer be heard that a portal opened on the opposite end of the arena, and Lion came flying through, skidding to a stop just a couple of inches from where Steven stood.  
  
His mane was no different than the thick white clouds hanging overhead. It flowed in puffs of soft fur around his face, slicked back and coming to a point on each side. His short-haired pelt was the most pleasant shade of pink and never with a single hair out of place. But his unusual color wasn't the only thing that set him apart from your average lion; he was heavyset -- more fat than muscle - making him pleasantly round in the middle. His tail swished and he let loose a yawn that exposed an impressive set of teeth that could likely tear solid steel in half. His dark eyes blinked sleepily, the slightest twinkle in them like a star in the night sky.  
  
That's how Junior saw him, anyway.  
  
"Lion, we're gonna go train, so you play nice with Junior, okay?" Steven patted him on the back, and left them be after Lion gave him the usual half-growl of appeasement.  
  
Jasper and Eyeball lived outside of Beach City limits so it wasn't often that they were in the same place as Steven and Connie, and even when they were, it didn't mean they'd have brought along their big cat companions with them. But they had scheduled training sessions for at least two days of every week with eachother for the foreseeable future. And this was good news for Junior. He had only ever seen Lion on rare occasions that forced the entire Crystal Gem family together. But this was the first instance he was able to see him without any distractions, and it was ... nice.  
  
Lion turned to him slowly, and Junior could feel the fur on the back of his neck standing on end, his spine straightening, and a lump forming in his throat. _'Oh god oh god he's looking at me oh god **what do I do?!'**_  
  
Lion, once again, yawned, and laid down upon the warm stone of the Ruins to watch his owners train. How anticlimactic.  
  
Well, at least he noticed the nervous tiger this time. That was perhaps the first time they made eye contact, and Junior would be lying to himself if he said he didn't feel like he was on cloud nine for being noticed. He laid down as well, though not to watch their owners train, but to watch Lion from afar.  
  
Why did he admire him so much? Well, it all started on the day they met, in the heat of battle between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld one year ago ...  
  
\--  
  
"Let's do this! Everyone, stand together!" Stevonnie shouted morally encouraging orders to their gem companions across the shoreline of Beach City. Sand by soldiers on both sides had kicked up a furious desert storm around them, and Junior could no longer see the Crystal Gems nor their foes. He stood closer to Mookaite -- the fusion of Jasper and Eyeball -- and looked up to her for a sign. This was a surprise attack, and Junior wasn't even supposed to be here. Mookaite placed a large hand upon his head. "Find a way out of this cloud. You know the way home. Keep running, and don't look back." She summoned her weapon from her face gems.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be okay." A smile lit up her face, briefly. "I'm never alone."  
  
The foreboding mass of a fusion barrelled blindly and headfirst into the fray, and Junior found himself standing lone in the midst of this mess. He was surrounded by battlecries from friend and foe alike and the sand whipping up around him made it impossible to stop blinking, so all he could see were flashes of images disorienting him further. He didn't know where anyone was. He didn't know where he himself was. The battle seemed distant, in fact ... until he heard the roar of a Homeworld gem coming toward him at an incredible speed. There was no time to react or defend himself. He was only able to brace himself for impact before his body was flung back onto the beach and into the unforgivably compact sand. He fully expected to be struck down by a sword or a hammer or ... something. But the Homeworld soldier wasn't the one who tackled him.  
  
Standing over Junior was another big cat, with eyes like smoldering white embers glaring in the direction of the opponent before him. His stance was wide and his body lowered over the tiger's, snarling sweet malice toward the soldier and warning them not to take another step. He shielded him from the whirlwind of sand enough for Junior to get a good look at the lion over him. He was rose-colored and broad. Junior was paralyzed, not with fear, but ... Shock? Surprise, perhaps? No. This was a feeling unknown. He had never seen anything like him, whoever he was. Eyes glowing, expression stoic, and chest puffed out proudly. Being cast in his shadow made him feel like not a thing in the world could hurt him.  
  
The gem lifted their weapon, and that was all it took; Lion pounced them back into the cloud of sand. There was the sounds of roars and claws scraping armor. Junior wanted to go toward it, but ... no. He had to obey orders. So that was the last Junior saw of him. Because whatever this unknown feeling was, it gave him the strength to scramble onto all four paws and scurry off to find his way home. Everything became a blur ...  
  
\--  
  
"COOKIE CATS! COME GET YOUR COOKIE CATS!" Junior broke free from his flashback and looked to Pearl who stood at the bottom step, waving to Steven and carrying a neatly organized tray of ten cookie cats fresh from the freezer. He must have been daydreaming for a while now, because the sky had tinted the same color as Lion.  
  
"COOKIE CAAAAAATS!" Steven shouted in the most childlike tone. His shield phased into sparkles and he made a mad dash toward Pearl, hopping up and down in front of her with his hands out in waiting. She picked out the cookie cat with the most cream filling for her beloved child and placed it in his hungry grasp. "And how has your training been going?"  
  
Connie slipped Rose's sword back into the scabbard and joined them alongside Steven. "Pretty good, all things considered! It's kinda like training with Garnet. Only with less strategy and more punching." She wrapped an arm around Steven's shoulders while he munched away at the ear of his favorite limited edition treat (only available in the summer months!), and kissed the scruff of his cheek. "Tell Pearl how you got your butt kicked, hun."  
  
"IT WAS EYEBALL!" Steven spat out both the accusation and half of a cookie. "She _literally_ kicked me in the butt! It totally threw me off!!"  
  
Junior lost interest in the conversation in favor of looking over to Lion. He blended in with the hues of the sunset, laying on his side with his chin on his paw and his eyes shut. His snoring was loud and obnoxious and somehow quite charming. The tiger looked around him to see the gems were occupied with other matters and decided this was the right time to make a move.  
  
A move? What move? What even _was_ a move?  
  
He stood up and took slow steps to close the distance between them, and tilted his head to get a better look at his sleeping face. The gentle breeze blew through his cotton candy mane, and Junior's whiskers prickled at the sight of him. He leaned in close to find out if he really did smell as sweet as he looked.  
  
"JUNIOR!"  
  
The sound of his name made him jump two feet in the air and quickly turn with his tail straight up at attention.  
  
Eyeball brought over a cookie cat and offered it to him. "Thought you might be hungry. I dunno if you'll like these or not." Of course, it was made clear once Junior snatched the treat from her hand and bit it in half, ice cream pouring down his chin. The ruby looked on in mild disgust. "Hey, we didn't raise you to be a mess! ... Well, maybe Jasper did." She glanced to the half of the treat that had fallen out of his mouth, and he followed her line of vision, leaning down to gulp down the remainder of his meal as intended. "I guess you can have another then." She placed one more in his mouth and turned to make her way back to her girlfriend to continue their training.  
  
He held it gently between his teeth, yet didn't bite down. The tiger turned his attention back to the other big cat, who still slept peacefully. A thought came to mind.  
  
\--  
  
Lion awoke in the middle of the night. The Ruins were empty and surrounded in darkness. Steven must have left him asleep because he knew disturbing him from his nap was rude. Everyone had returned home without a trace, except for one thing.  
  
A melted cookie cat at his feet.


End file.
